


An Unexpected Perk

by valdomarx (cptxrogers)



Series: Octoberfest fics [11]
Category: The Witcher (TV)
Genre: Developing Relationship, Fluff, M/M, Sharing a Bed
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-14
Updated: 2020-10-14
Packaged: 2021-03-08 19:49:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 617
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27012289
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cptxrogers/pseuds/valdomarx
Summary: Geralt is a man who likes his space but, to his annoyance, Jaskier keeps pressing up close when they sleep.
Relationships: Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia/Jaskier | Dandelion
Series: Octoberfest fics [11]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1956754
Comments: 13
Kudos: 293





	An Unexpected Perk

**Author's Note:**

> Octoberfest day 11: Geraskier Hallows: only one bed

Geralt is a man who likes his space. He likes to be able to breathe, to see those around him and to avoid anyone sneaking up on him. He is self-sufficient and comfortable that way.

When Jaskier enters his life in a flurry of colour and song, he takes the intrusion with as much good grace as he can muster. Jaskier talks, _endlessly_ , and he eats all the food and gets in the way. But Geralt finds he doesn’t mind that, not really. It’s almost refreshing to have his days filled with music instead of silence.

Jaskier has a habit, though, which is most grating. When it’s cold and they’re camping under the stars, Jaskier will lay out his bedroll right next to Geralt’s and boldly plonk himself down into Geralt’s space while he tries to sleep. He’ll complain about the chill and shift closer, curling up to Geralt like he’s his own personal fireplace.

It’s distracting, all that movement and fluttering and warmth next to him, and his skin feels itchy from the contact and his mind won’t stop whirring. Once Jaskier is asleep, he’ll quietly roll away to a reasonable distance until he can finally exhale, letting the tight coil of annoyance unwind so he can relax.

On the rare occasions when they can afford an inn, there’s never enough coin for more than one room. So they share, and Jaskier continues to be very loud and very present. When they lie together in cramped beds he’ll happy drape an arm across Geralt’s chest or tuck an ankle over his leg, and Geralt just has to put up with it, scowling up at the ceiling. At least an inn bed is warm and dry, even if it is full of fidgety bard. He’s slept in worse places.

He tells himself he’s doing what he has to to keep Jaskier alive. The man is a certifiable idiot, chronically incapable of dressing appropriately for the weather, and he’d likely freeze to death if Geralt didn’t keep him close at night. And then he’d have to deal with all the guilt that would entail, so the entire situation is best avoided by letting the idiot sleep next to him.

Over time, though, something unexpected happens. On the odd occasions when they don’t sleep close by, he feels a strange anxiety drumming in his chest. He’s somehow grown accustomed to the rapid patter of Jaskier’s heartbeat and the steady rhythm of his breath while they sleep, and without it he feels unmoored. During bitter weather he reasons that it is, in fact, easier to ward off the cold when they’re pressed close together. He sullenly admits to himself that there could be something, Melitele help him, _soothing_ about the presence of his bard.

When they prepare to sleep on chilly evenings, he’ll automatically hold out his arm and Jaskier will burrow into his side. When they visit an inn he finds himself looking forward to the bath and the comfy bed, certainly, but also to having Jaskier tucked against him, soft and familiar. Even on humid summer nights too hot for coverings, he finds himself stretching out a hand that Jaskier can grasp onto, the two of them joined by sticky fingers meeting in the darkness.

When the nights are quiet and the air is still, and when he’s quite sure that Jaskier is asleep, he’ll tuck his face into his hair and inhale. The scent of lavender and clove is calming and reassuring. It is a scent that now means warmth and sleep and comfort.

He is still a man who likes his space. But he has found that sometimes, he doesn’t mind sharing that space with Jaskier.


End file.
